F1 | Alfa Romeo appear to have found the blueprint for a perfect working relationship
Proactivity from team leader Valtteri Bottas and an eagerness to ask questions from Zhou Guanyu seems to be the perfect blend that will move Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN higher up the grid.
Valtteri Bottas is now leading a team following his move to Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN this season. Having previously found himself behind a more senior racer, Bottas now has the role reversed and is also effectively a mentor for his rookie teammate Zhou Guanyu. The Finnish racer has taken to this now position in his team with ease and in the long run this will set Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN up for a very strong season.
Valtteri Bottas’ F1 career saw him at Williams Racing behind the senior driver Felipe Massa and of course his time at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team was alongside seven-time F1 Drivers’ Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton. On his day, with the Brackley-based team, Bottas was more than a match for Hamilton and although never having an F1 Driver’s Championship to his name he was a crucial part of five F1 Constructors’ Championships for the team.
Having been forced to turn his back on F1 wins – for now at least – Valtteri Bottas is building a team around him for the first time. A crucial part is the role of Chinese rookie Zhou Guanyu. In exclusive remarks with the-race.com Valtteri Bottas explained that he has tried to be proactive in his working relationship with Zhou Guanyu.
https://the-race.com/formula-1/zhous-curiosity-is-making-it-easier-for-bottas-to-help-him/
Bottas' transition to team leader has also been aided by his Chinese teammate readily asking questions, which makes it “very easy” to help him.
“It comes quite naturally, like sometimes I try to think like, all the new things that he’s facing as a rookie, whether it’s about the race start or tyre management or set up-direction, it’s just like, if I see him struggling in one area, then I just try to give my feedback.
“But he’s also really good when there are things that are kind of concerning or he is unsure about, whether it’s about set-up or driving, he always asks. It makes it very easy for me just to give an honest answer and with my best experience.”
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen’s Head of Track Engineering, Xevi Pujolar, shared his thoughts about Zhou Guanyu with Motorlat and select media recently and called the rookie ‘a very good racer.’
Valtteri Bottas’ remarks also show how impressed the Finnish racer is with his teammate as he revealed “Nobody’s really putting pressure on Zhou, in a way. With the rate of progress he’s doing, he’s absolutely fine. Naturally, he will get better and better.”
When Kimi Räikkönen announced his retirement from Formula One, this paved the way for Valtteri Bottas to join the team – having seen George Russell move into his seat at Mercedes. However, when Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN announced they would part ways with popular racer Antonio Giovinazzi, many fans believed they would turn to Oscar Piastri. Instead, Alfa went after Zhou Guanyu – a man who came with talent and many millions of dollars.
Team Principal Fred Vasseur has found himself having to repeatedly defend the decision to sign Zhou Guanyu. In his remarks to the-race.com Vasseur explained where the performance will come from for his pair of drivers.
“It will come from the fact that we will be able to develop also with Zhou, it will come from the fact we will be able to share data, share tests and he [Bottas] knows that the first part of the season for Zhou is critical. He fully understands that he needs to be supportive to give the best start of the season to Zhou, to be sure that Zhou will be supportive and will be part of the success. It’s just a positive attitude. And this is crucial. We had a long discussion last winter with Valtteri about this. But I didn’t need to convince him, he understood this.”
Valtteri Bottas helping Zhou Guanyu is of course not altruistic and Bottas’ comments outlined the long-term vision for the team as he concluded saying: “I want us to be a really strong pair of team-mates. So that’s why I want to help him because I want both of us scoring points.”
There is every expectation that points will come for both drivers this weekend in Imola either during the first F1 Sprint of the season or on Race Day. If that does come to pass, Zhou Guanyu will know who to thank but due to such a great working relationship – so too will Valtteri Bottas.
